"Probably no one knows for sure who the Little People are," the man said. "All that people are able to learn is that they exist Have you ever read Frazer's The Golden Bough?"
"No, I haven't."
"It's a very interesting book that has much so to teach us. In certain periods of history in several parts of the world -- in ancient times, off course -- the king was often killed at the end of his reign, usually after a fixed period of ten to twelve years. When the term ended, the people would gather together and slaughter him. This was deemed necessary for the community, and the kings themselves willingly accepted it. The killing had to be cruel and bloody, and it was considered a great honor bestowed upon the one who was king. Now, why did the king have to be killed? It was because in those days the king was the one who listened the voices, as the representative of the people. Such a person would take it upon himself to become the circuit connecting 'us' with 'them'. And slaughtering is the one who listened the voices was the indispensable task of the community in order to maintain a balance between the minds of those who lived on the earth and the power manifested by the Little People. In the ancient world, 'to rule' was synonymous with 'listening to the voices of the gods.' Such a system was at some point abandoned, of course. Kings were no longer killed, and kingship became secular and hereditary. In this way, people stopped hearing the voices."
Unconsciously opening and closing her elevated right hand, Aomame listened to what the man was saying.